Reply to Keats - Chap 35
Chap 35
I Don’t Want to Treat You Perfunctorily
Chen Wan really couldn’t figure out his attitude, so she had to ask directly: “Will you come tomorrow night?”
“Who’s there?” Zhao Shengge walked all the way holding his cell phone, just like the young workers in the park who had just finished overtime and were calling their partners or families as they walked out of the company.
“Mr. Tan, Brother Shen…” Chen Wan said a few names.
“Why did you call me?” Zhao Shengge was very strict. He not only asked for the list of guests attending the event, but also reviewed the reason for the invitation.
“…” Chen Wan almost doubted whether his thoughts had been exposed, but he also felt that it was probably not the case. Perhaps Zhao Shengge felt that he and he were not that familiar with each other, so he asked in more details to ensure safety.
Chen Wan replied calmly and appropriately: “You helped a lot when I was in the hospital, and you also helped me find my aunt. I haven’t thanked you yet.”
Zhao Shengge couldn’t tell whether he agreed or disagreed with this statement, and said calmly:
“Is that so?”
“Um.”
Zhao Shengge did not accept his invitation nor did he reject it directly. He just said:
“It depends. I’ll go over when I’m free.”
Chen Wan said straightforwardly: “Okay, goodbye, Mr. Zhao.”
Zhao Shengge heard that he had no intention of fighting for it. He looked at the busy traffic outside the car window and whispered, “Goodbye, Chen Wan.”
After saying that, the hot phone immediately fell into darkness and the power was completely exhausted.
The call was hung up so quickly that Chen Wan had no way of guessing Zhao Shengge’s emotions, but her ears did feel hot.
Every time Zhao Shengge called his name, it seemed very serious, yet also very familiar and ordinary.
Of course Chen Wan knew that this was just his imagination, but it was difficult for him to get rid of the habit of thinking about it over and over again.
This phone call with a subtle atmosphere and ambiguous meaning made Chen Wan uneasy the whole night. Until the next afternoon, he didn’t know whether Zhao Shengge would show up.
Chen Wan was the first to arrive at the hotel. Every time a door was opened, he turned around to take a look.
Until the pointer pointed to seven o’clock, the door did not move for a long time, and Chen Wan’s heart finally calmed down like the receding tide.
Zhao Shengge would not come, so Chen Wan focused on entertaining the guests.
There were not many people who came, only five or six. Qin Zhaoting also came. Chen Wan did not invite him. Qin Zhaoting went on a business trip to Europe before the Minglong dinner. He must have heard about Chen Wan’s injury from Jiang Ying after he came back, so he followed him here.
“I was not in Hai City some time ago, and I didn’t make it to the hospital to visit you. I am so presumptuous to come here tonight. You will not welcome me, right?”
Chen Wan smiled and said, “It’s okay, we are all friends,” and then asked everyone to sit down.
At this moment, the door of the box hall opened with a click.
Chen Wan was pouring tea for her friend. She didn’t have time to look up and thought it was the waiter again. She said, “Hello, please…”
He raised his head.
The sound stopped.
Zhao Shengge didn’t wear a suit today. He looked very young in a simple shirt. Facing the gazes of the people in the room, he walked in calmly, unbuttoned two buttons on his chest, and looked at the group of people. He didn’t know who he said to, “Sorry, there was a traffic jam on the road.”
Chen Wan’s heart sank to the bottom of the water and then jumped to the top of the mountain, but his expression was still that flawless smile.
There was no surprise at his appearance, as if Zhao Shengge was just an ordinary person on the invitation list.
Tan Youming walked over lazily and said, “Oh, distinguished guest, I thought you had disappeared again. It seems you still have some conscience.” Then he was about to sit down next to Zhao Shengge.
Wherever Zhao Shengge went, he always sat in the main seat. Usually, Tan Youming and Shen Zongnan sat on his two sides, or they sat together on the same side of Zhao Shengge.
Zhao Shengge sat down and asked casually, “Are you hosting tonight?”
“Oh, no,” Tan Youming thought he really didn’t know that Chen Wan was the host, because it was indeed him who had been clamoring to help Chen Wan organize the graduation banquet. Tan Youming pointed to the seat next to Zhao Shengge and said, “Come, Wan, sit here. You are the host today.”
“…”
Chen Wan has always been an unknown character in various occasions, always sitting quietly in a corner where no one noticed her. When he was pushed to such a prominent position, he did not refuse, but walked over with confidence, still looking gentle.
Zhao Shengge was sitting less than half a foot away from him. His fingers holding the cup, his sexy wrist bones, his beautiful and powerful arms, every move was within Chen Wan’s peripheral vision.
But for some reason, Zhao Shengge seemed to be in a bad mood tonight. Chen Wan passed the dish to him and said that if Mr. Zhao was interested, he could try it. He said “OK” but didn’t stretch out his chopsticks or look at him.
Chen Wan pursed his lips and was about to speak when Qin Zhaoting raised his glass to him and congratulated him on being discharged from the hospital.
Chen Wan drank it readily.
Tan Youming asked why he only respected the host, and said that when Chen Wan was hospitalized, he was the only one here who did not visit the hospital, and he was coming here tonight to have a free meal thanks to everyone.
Qin Zhaoting smiled and toasted everyone readily.
When they arrived at Zhaosheng Pavilion, Qin Zhaoting raised his cup and said with a smile: “Minglong has been so busy recently, I thought you wouldn’t come.”
Zhao Shengge took the divided cup in front of Chen Wan, poured wine into his own cup, gestured, and said, “I didn’t know you would come.” He glanced at Chen Wan and said casually, “It seems that Mr. Chen’s popularity is better than I thought.”
Chen Wan was stunned for a moment, from Chen Wan to Mr. Chen, he pursed his lips, and suddenly remembered something.
Although Zhao Shengge might not remember or care, he still felt he needed to explain it as a matter of courtesy.
After Zhao Shengge and Qin Zhaoting finished their round of drinking, Chen Wan turned to Zhao Shengge, not getting too close, but lowering his voice a little: “Mr. Zhao, I didn’t know Mr. Qin would come tonight.”
That day, Zhao Shengge asked him very clearly who he had invited, and he also very clearly said a few names, and Qin Zhaoting was not among them.
He just remembered this when Qin Zhaoting toasted him just now.
People of Zhao Shengge’s status pay special attention to the privacy of his whereabouts. If everyone who hosts a party does what he does, inviting Zhao Shengge and then bringing some people who are not his expectations, it will give many people who want to establish a relationship with him an opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity.
This is taboo, immoral and impolite.
To put it bluntly, it’s called social fraud.
Zhao Shengge looked at Chen Wan formally for the first time tonight and said, “Really?”
Chen Wan felt palpitations at his look and nodded: “Yes.”
He didn’t want Zhao Shengge to think that he was insincere or scheming, so he explained sincerely: “Mr. Qin didn’t know that I was in the hospital before, so I didn’t invite him. I think he came here because Mr. Tan mentioned it.”
“So I didn’t say his name last time you asked me.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him for a while and said, “I understand, Chen Wan.”
There was some noise at the table. Zhao Shengge’s words separated this corner into a space where only the two of them could talk. The air flowed more slowly and thicker than elsewhere.
Chen Wanxin felt a little relieved, but she still felt a little hot when he looked at her.
Zhao Shengge’s eyes were calm, direct, and a little deep, making people wonder what they meant.
In fact, Chen Wan had always wanted to ask Zhao Shengge what he was looking at, but she didn’t know how to ask, so she could only smile faintly and pretend to respond calmly and politely.
The soup is served, divided into several small bowls, and the guests can help themselves from the turntable.
Zhao Shengge was generally very negative about eating. Chen Wan blinked and said, “Would you like to try it, Mr. Zhao? Mushroom and yam soup, cooked over a traditional fire.”
Mainly, it’s good for the stomach.
Zhao Shengge looked at him and said, “Okay.”
Chen Wan took a bowl, stirred it slightly with a spoon to dissipate the heat before placing it in front of Zhao Shengge.
Zhao Shengge felt that if possible, he would even scoop up a spoonful and blow it like feeding a child before giving it to himself.
He felt like laughing.
“Thanks.”
Chen Wan smiled and shook his head.
Perhaps because of the accidental help she had given Zhao Shengge and the hospitalization she had received before, that night Chen Wan discovered that Zhao Shengge was not as unpredictable as she had imagined.
He became bolder and tried to recommend a few more dishes to him, and Zhao Shengge did not refuse.
Chen Wan looked at him in surprise, and Zhao Shengge looked back at him, with his chin slightly raised, as if asking him, what are you doing?
Chen Wan withdrew his gaze and the thought flashed through his mind again.
lion.
Zhao Shengge really looks like some kind of large cat, a majestic lion.
He is proud, reserved, and self-contained. He looks fierce and calm, but in fact, as long as you do what he wants, he won’t really care about anything.
He sat there alone with a calm expression, seldom spoke, occasionally looking up at the noisy crowd, and then went back to thinking about his own things.
Chen Wan was a little confused by his cooperative attitude tonight, and suddenly felt the joy of feeding a big cat. When the seafood came up, he introduced it to Zhao Shengge: “This is a full-pound deep-sea crab. It has been raised for a long time and the crab will not smell fishy. Would you like to try it, Mr. Zhao?”
Zhao Shengge, who was already about 80% full, looked sideways at him, neither saying yes nor no.
Chen Wan still couldn’t get used to the way he looked at her directly. It took a lot of willpower for her to stay calm and look at him.
Zhao Shengge pursed his lips, as if he was looking for something to say. Chen Wan misunderstood that he was too lazy to open the crab, so he used the etiquette of a host to entertain guests and said, “Can I open one for Mr. Zhao to try?”
Zhao Shengge wanted to refuse, but Chen Wan looked at him so sincerely, waiting for his answer, so Zhao Shengge said, “That’s troublesome.”
Chen Wan wore gloves when peeling the crab, and Zhao Shengge just watched him do it.
After dinner, everyone moved to the tea room. Chen Wan still sat next to Zhao Shengge. The tea table was much smaller than the dining table, so their knees would occasionally touch each other, and their legs would inadvertently stick together because of their movements.
Chen Wan pulled his legs inconspicuously. The skin on his thighs was very hot. He wanted to move over a little to make some space for Zhao Shengge’s long legs. Zhao Shengge held him down and said in a low voice with great restraint, “I’m fine. Don’t squeeze Qin Zhaoting.”
Chen Wan didn’t move, but just kept her legs together properly, trying not to have any physical contact with Zhao Shengge.
Zhao Shengge was not as reserved as him, and his whole body exuded a sense of relaxation.
The waiter served the refreshments, and the manager came over and said, “Mr. Chen, the gifts have been put in the backstage for safekeeping. Would you like to take a look at the gift list?”
Everyone brought gifts to celebrate Chen Wan’s discharge from the hospital. The young masters spent a lot of money on gifts, including ginseng, supplements, luxury goods, and everything else. Someone even brought a large bouquet of carnations, which was very beautiful.
Hotels of this level usually provide gift-keeping services, checking with guests and then taking responsibility for safekeeping to avoid omissions.
Chen Wan took a look at it, gave it back to him and said thank you.
The manager left, and Zhao Shengge suddenly said beside him in a voice that only the two of them could hear: “Chen Wan, I didn’t bring any gifts.”
Chen Wan was stunned for a moment. He had never thought about this. He smiled and said, “You’re welcome. I invited you so late. You still took the time to come. This is the greatest kindness you can give me.”
Zhao Shengge ignored his politeness and turned to look at the person talking with great concentration: “I don’t know what you like, I don’t want to perfunctorily treat you.”
There was no ambiguity in the tone and demeanor in which he said this; instead, he was frank, direct, and overly sincere.
Chen Wan’s mind was a little confused.
Sometimes Zhao Shengge’s words are very conjectured, but when he speaks directly, he will drop an atomic bomb directly into people’s hearts, regardless of other people’s life or death.
Zhao Shengge really had no experience in giving gifts to others. The gifts prepared by his secretary and assistant did not count, so he suggested: “When you are free, let’s pick a gift together. I am the one who should thank you the most tonight.”
Chen Wan was hospitalized this time because of him. Since it is to celebrate Chen Wan’s discharge from the hospital, he is the one who should receive the gift.
